Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Window on Eurasia: Why Some Russians Call Americans ‘Pindoses’ – the Etymology of an Ethnic Slur

Paul
Goble

Staunton, November 12 – Most ethnic
slurs are so obviously derived from the names or stereotypes of another ethnic
group that one need devote little time to where they come from, but one,
increasingly used by Russians about Americans as tensions between the two
nations have grown, has a curious and interesting etymology.

That is “pindos,” a term of abuse which
is ever more often seen in Russian articles about Americans. Its origin is not
immediately obvious, although it appears that almost all Russians know that it has
a negative connotation. According to Politikus.ru, the Russians owe this
linguistic innovation to the Serbs of Kosovo (politikus.ru/articles/34937-pochemu-amerikancev-zovut-pindosami.html).

The way American soldiers dressed in
Yugoslavia, with heavy packs and with bulletproof vests suggested to the Serbs,
the site says, that they looked like penguins. And since the word for penguin
in Serbian is “pindo,” the Serbs applied it as a term of contempt for the
Americans.They referred to the British
as “half-penguins,” and that slur also appears to have survived.

Some websites suggest a different
origin. They suggest “pindo” derives from the Spanish “pendejos” or idiot. But
it seems probable, the Russian site says that Russians got their term from the
Serbs, a version supported by the Wikipedia article on the subject which notes
that the term has proven remarkably generative.

Some Russians now speak of “Pindostan”
as a variant and dismissive term for the United States, and others use “pindo”
to denounce other Russians who say anything against Russian President Vladimir
Putin.

Some idea of the meaning of the term
for those who use it is conveyed by the Urban Dictionary which lists among the
synonyms of “pindo” the following: slutty, amerikos, dumb, fagot, lame, gringo,
stupid and yankee (urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pindo).

ADDENDUM: Few recent
Windows have provoked as much discussion as this one, with various writers
pointing to alternative origins for the term and challenging the Russian author’s
etymological assertions.Nenad Kostić,
the culture editor of the Serbian daily "Naše novine," writes that
the word “pindo” does not exist in Serbian and was not used to describe
American or British soldiers. The origins of the word or at least its negative
use need to be found elsewhere.